Former Daily News Writer Conlin Dies in Florida

According to multiple reports – and first tweeted by former Phillies beat writer Randy Miller – former Philadelphia Daily News writer Bill Conlin has died in Largo, FL at the age of 79.

Conlin was awarded the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in 2011 following a Hall of Fame career as a baseball writer, but shortly after was alleged to have molested young family members decades before. Those accusations were made by Conlin’s niece, Kelley Blanchet, a prosecutor in Atlantic City. Deadspin broke the story in 2011.

Conlin was a graduate of Temple University and worked for the Evening Bulletin before joining the Daily News in 1965. He joined the Phillies beat in 1966 and became a columnist in 1987. After his retirement, Conlin briefly wrote for our own Jay Floyd’s website, Phoul Ballz.